Kai Havertz netted against his former club to take us through to the final in style during Tuesday night’s win at Emirates Stadium, but for now N5 hosts another Premier League clash - this time against Sunderland.

NONI AND ZUBI STEAL THE SHOW

Gameweek 24 was a fantastic one for the several millions of FPL managers holding a trio of Arsenal players, as an incredible 13 Gunners scored above the standard two-point appearance tally.

The points came by the bucketload for our squad following our 4-0 victory over Leeds United - and none more so than Noni Madueke (£6.8m), who netted his first Premier League goal for us directly from a corner, having already assisted Martin Zubimendi for the opener.

The retrospective decision to credit Noni with the goal - initially recorded as an own goal by Karl Darlow - added a further five points onto his total for a Gameweek score of 14. The winger is owned by just 0.8% of Fantasy bosses, making him a strong differential.

The same goes for Zubimendi himself, who remains available for a tantalising £5.2m, despite collecting 10 points at Leeds last Saturday - taking the 2.4%-owned midfielder to a season total of 91.

Elsewhere, Gabriel has become the first defender this season to reach a £7.0m price tag, having moved level on 129 points with Declan Rice (£7.5m) with an eight-point haul at Elland Road. The ownership of Viktor Gyokeres (£8.7m) is also steadily climbing, with the Swede’s goal helping add seven more points to his total.

Alongside Madueke and Zubimendi, there remain plenty more budget-friendly options to maximise the Arsenal presence in your FPL squad, with low current ownerships. Among them is Tuesday’s goal hero Havertz (£7.3m), a forward option presently owned by just 0.5% of squads, while Leandro Trossard (£6.8m) already has 86 points this term despite being owned by just 1.4% of bosses. Leo was also our leading FPL marksman in 2024/25.

Surprise package Sunderland head into Gameweek 25 eighth in the table, just five points outside the top four. Regis Le Bris’ squad has been an FPL goldmine in terms of value, with many players vastly underestimated and subsequently scrambled for as the season has progressed.

There are currently two Sunderland players to have surpassed 100 points - one being goalkeeper Robin Roefs (£5.0m). Having climbed from his pre-season price tag of £4.5m, the Dutchman sits on 104 points - inferior only to Everton’s Jordan Pickford (£5.6m) on 105. Roefs’ eight clean sheets have gone some way to helping his points total, and the same goes for leading hauler Nordi Mukiele (£4.5m) - the defender a bargain bet of just £4.0m in the summer before slamming home 111 points.

Moving further forward, striker Brian Brobbey (£5.6m) scored in the reverse fixture at the Stadium of Light in November and has found some form, becoming first-choice up top, but while former Gunner Granit Xhaka (£5.1m) has excelled since his return to England, he is set to miss out due to injury.

WINTER WINDOW SLAMS SHUT

Following Monday's transfer deadline, the winter window is now closed. While January was busy for some clubs more than others, there are only a select few whose mid-season departures from the Premier League will hold much weight with FPL managers. 

One player whose slim price tag as an attacking midfielder occasionally appealed in Fantasy football this season was Lucas Paqueta, who has now left West Ham United to return to his native Brazil with Flamengo. Paqueta, who was priced at £5.9m in-game when he departed, leaves as the third-highest point-scorer for the survival-battling Hammers with a total of 69.

Another player to have left the league is Aston Villa’s Donyell Malen, whose £5.1m price tag appealed to some as he racked up 55 points. Malen has now moved to Serie A with Roma, but a potentially astute arrival at Villa Park is striker Tammy Abraham (£6.0m). While he has returned to the Premier League - and FPL - there are others who have made moves across the English top-flight and could now be viable options for your squad after being handed a fresh start.

One such example is Crystal Palace’s deadline day signing, Jorgen Strand Larsen (£6.1m). A regular goalscorer in the league for Wolves last year, the Norwegian forward is anticipated to get plenty of minutes at Selhurst Park having arrived for a considerable sum, in a bid to rekindle that previous form.

Fulham’s Oscar Bobb - a compatriot of Strand Larsen’s - is another, having joined on a permanent deal from Manchester City. The catch with Bobb is that he is currently nursing a hamstring injury, but when fit, his gametime is expected to increase. Potentially one for the business end of the campaign, Bobb’s injury could even bring his price lower than the current £5.1m tag.

In the here-and-now, you can find budget defensive options from clubs in the bottom half of the table. Back into midfield, Burnley completed a loan deal late in the window for James Ward-Prowse (£5.6m), who was out of favour at West Ham. Looking to turn a corner at Turf Moor, Ward-Prowse - albeit ineligible against his parent club this weekend - will almost certainly be on free-kicks and corners when he plays, with huge opportunities for attacking returns.

DOUBLE GAMEWEEK 26

While we will concentrate on this news in much further depth in our next edition of FPL Focus, it has now been confirmed that both Arsenal and Wolves will feature twice in Gameweek 26 - the next round of Premier League fixtures after GW25 this weekend.

Our league meeting at Molineux with Rob Edwards’ side has been brought forward to Wednesday, February 18, due to our participation in the Carabao Cup final against Manchester City on Sunday, March 22.

GW26 will consequently bring the first Double Gameweek of 2025/26, and the maiden opportunity for your Gunners assets to deliver in two matches inside one Gameweek. It would certainly be recommended to look ahead to this schedule change when planning your transfers across multiple weeks - the foresight to ensure a trio of Arsenal stars in your squad could reap huge dividends, especially should you be preparing a chip.

As for this weekend, be sure to finalise your transfers and team selection by this Friday at 6:30pm UK time, 90 minutes before Leeds and Nottingham Forest raise the curtain on Gameweek 25!